Transgenic amorpha-4,11-diene synthesis

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to an isolated DNA sequence encoding a polypeptide having the biological activity of amorpha-4,11-diene synthase. This DNA sequence can be used for the transformation of bacteria, yeasts and plants for the production of amorpha-4,11-diene, a specific precursor in the synthesis of artemisinin, in the respective organisms. The invention also relates to these organisms.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a DNA sequence, a polypeptide encoded by this sequence, and to the use of said DNA sequence and polypeptide in the production of amorphadiene.

2. Description of the Related Art

Human malaria is a commonly occurring widespread infectious disease, caused in 85% of the cases by Plasmodium falciparum. This parasite is responsible for the most lethal form of malaria, malaria tropicana. Each year, malaria causes clinical illness, often very severe, in over 100 million people of which eventually over 1 million individuals will die. Approximately 40% of the world's population is at risk of malaria infection (as estimated by the World Health Organization).

Malaria has traditionally been treated with quinolines, such as quinine, chloroquine, mefloquine and primaquine, and with antifolates. Unfortunately, most P. falciparum strains have become resistant to chloroquine, and some have developed resistance to mefloquine and halofantrine as well. Thus, novel antimalarial drugs to which resistant parasites are sensitive are urgently needed. Artemisinin, as well as its semisynthetic derivatives are promising candidates here.

Artemisinin (FIG. 1), [3R-(3α, 5aβ, 6β, 8aβ, 9α, 12β, 12aR*)]-Octahydro-3,6,9-trimethyl-3,12-epoxy-12H-pyrano[4,3-j]-1,2-benzodioxepin-10(3H)-one; molecular weight 282.35), also called arteannuin, qinghaosu or QHS, is a sesquiterpene lactone endoperoxide isolated from the aerial parts of the plant Artemisia annua L.

Artemisia annua L., also known as quinghao (Chinese), annual or sweet wormwood, or sweet annie is an annual herb native to Asia. A. annua, a member of the Asteraceae, belongs to the tribe Anthemideae of the Asteroideae, and is a large herb often reaching more than 2.0 m in height. It is usually single-stemmed with alternating branches. The aromatic leaves are deeply dissected and range from 2.5 to 5 cm in length. Artemisinin is mainly produced in the leaves as a secondary metabolite at a concentration of 0.01–0.6% on a dry weight base in natural populations. Artemisinin is unique to the plant A. annua with one possible exception of A. apiacea L. The A. annua used in this invention is of Vietnamese origin.

Because of its low concentration in plants, artemisinin is a relatively expensive resource for a drug. Current research has thus been aimed at producing artemisinin at a larger scale by organic synthesis. However, because artemisinin consist of seven chiral carbon atoms, theoretically 2⁷=128 isomers can be formed of which only one is identical to artemisinin. Because of this complex structure of artemisinin, production of this compound by organic synthesis is not profitable from a commercial point of view.

Genetic engineering of the biosynthetic pathway of artemisinin may give rise to higher artemisinin levels in plants. To be able to interfere in the biosynthesis of artemisinin, the biosynthetic pathway has to be known, either completely or partially. Several attempts to elucidate the entire biosynthetic pathway have been undertaken. Until now, however, the exact pathway has remained largely unknown.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to an isolated DNA sequence encoding a polypeptide having the biological activity of amorpha-4,11-diene synthase. The DNA sequence can be used for the transformation of bacteria, yeasts and plants for the production of amorpha-4,11-diene, a specific precursor in the synthesis of artemisinin, in the respective organisms. The invention also relates to these organisms.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 depicts the structural formula of artemisinin;

FIG. 2 depicts the postulated biosynthetic pathway of artemisinin in A. annua;

FIG. 3 depicts the structure of DHAA and arteannuic acid, and the proposed pathway for the conversion of amorphadiene into DHAA;

FIG. 4 depicts the structure of amorpha-4,11-diene;

FIG. 5 depicts radio-CG chromatograms of [³H]-FPP assays;

FIG. 6 depicts mass spectra of reference amorphadiene and the FPP assay with terpene cyclases (synthases) purified from A. annua;

FIG. 7 depicts a probe generated by PCR and cloned into pGEM 7Zf′;

FIG. 8 depicts a nucleotide sequence and deduced amino acid sequence of the probe (538 bp) generated by PCR with primers A and B;

FIG. 9 depicts a released plasma of a positive clone isolated from the cDNA library of induced A. annua;

FIG. 10 depicts the nucleotide sequence and deduced amino acid sequence of a positive clone (amorphadiene synthase encoding gene) isolated from the cDNA library of induced A. annua;

FIG. 11 depicts part, between start and stop codon, of the amorphadiene synthase encoding gene cloned in the NcoI/BamHI site of the expression vector pET 11d;

FIG. 12 depicts a DNA sequence which codes for a polypeptide having the biological activity of the enzyme amorphadiene synthase;

FIG. 13 depicts SDS-PAGE gel electrophoresis results showing expressed amorphadiene synthase;

FIG. 14 depicts flame ionization detector (FID) signals and radio-GC chromatograms of amorpha-4,11-diene and farnesol;

FIG. 15 depicts the chemical conversion of amorphadiene into dihydroarteannuic acid; and

FIG. 16 depicts the determination of the molecular weight of amorpha-4,11-diene synthase by size-exclusion chromatography (gel filtration).

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In the research that led to the present invention, a unique pathway has been discovered which has not been published before. This pathway involves inter alia the formation of the artemisinin precursors amorpha-4,11-diene (1β, 6β, 7β, 10αH-amorpha-4,11-diene) and the hydroperoxide of dihydroarteannuic acid. These precursors that were found in A. annua have not been described before in literature.

From literature it is known that terpene cyclases (synthases) are branch point enzymes, which likely play an important role in terpenoid biosynthesis. The working hypothesis for this invention is thus that over-expression of such a branch point enzyme (terpene cyclase) may increase terpenoid production in an organism. Factors that may influence the success of such an approach are, in the case of artemisinin, the number and nature of the subsequent biosynthetic steps leading to artemisinin. FIG. 2 shows the biosynthetic pathway of artemisinin as postulated by the present inventors. This pathway is divided into three parts:

The first part (Part I) represents the terpenoid (Isoprenoid) pathway. This pathway is a general pathway. Farnesyl diphosphate (farnesyl pyrophosphate) (FPP), for example, is present in every living organism and it is the precursor of a large number of primary and secondary metabolites. It has been established that FPP is the precursor of all sesquiterpenes. Thus, by definition FPP is the precursor of artemisinin.

Part II displays the cyclization of the general precursor FPP into the highly specific precursor amorpha-4,11-diene (also referred to as amorphadiene), the first specific precursor of artemisinin. In this pathway amorphadiene synthase is a branch point enzyme, having a key position in the biosynthetic pathway of artemisinin.

In part III, dihydroarteannuic acid (DHAA), also called dihydroartemisinic acid, is photo-oxidatively converted into its hydroperoxide (DHAA-OOH). This hydroperoxide of DHAA will spontaneously oxidize into artemisinin. No enzymes are involved in this part of the pathway and therefore it is impossible to alter artemisinin production by over-expression of genes involved in this part of the pathway.

Cytochrome P-450 catalyzed enzymes and an enoate reductase are probably involved in the conversion of amorphadiene into DHAA, the transition state between part II and part III (see FIG. 3). Because no intermediates of this part of the pathway are known or present (accumulated) in detectable amounts, in the plant, (except arteannuic acid, also called artemisinic acid or 4,11(13)-amorphadien-12-oic acid) it is likely that these precursors are very rapidly converted into DHAA. A rate limiting step in this part of the pathway is not very likely.

Taking all these aspects into account the inventors concluded that the most logical step to be altered by genetic interfering, is the conversion (cyclization) of FPP into amorphadiene by amorphadiene synthase.

The object of the present invention is therefore to provide a way in which artemisinin can be obtained via an at least partially biological route.

This object is achieved by the provision of a DNA sequence which exhibits at least a 70% homology to the sequence (SEQ ID NO: 13) as shown in FIG. 12, and which codes for a polypeptide having the biological activity of the enzyme amorphadiene synthase.

The biological activity of the enzyme amorphadiene synthase relates to the conversion of the general precursor farnesyl pyrophosphate (FPP) into the specific artemisinin precursor amorpha-4,11-diene, which, in A. annua, is further converted to artemisinin. Suitable genes according to the invention can be selected by testing the expression product of the gene for its ability to convert FPP into amorpha-4,11-diene.

By transforming a suitable host cell with the DNA sequence of the invention, the conversion of farnesyl pyrophosphate (FPP) into the highly specific precursor amorphadiene can be increased or induced if this conversion route is not naturally present in the organism. In the latter case, the organism should comprise or be able to produce FPP. Suitable host cells are for example bacterial cells, such as E. coli, yeast cells like Saccharomyces cerevisiae or Pichia pastoris and in particular oleaginous yeasts, like Yarrowia lipolytica, or plant cells such as those of A. annua.

Several plants are capable of producing large amounts of FPP making them potential organisms for amorphadiene production.

The potential oleaginous yeast host cells, like, for example, Yarrowia lipolytica and Cryptococcus curvatus, have the capacity to accumulate up to about 50% (dry weight) of storage carbohydrates in oil bodies, making them very interesting candidates as production organisms for large quantities of terpenes. According to the invention, a way to obtain high levels of terpene accumulation is for example by means of re-direction of the metabolic flux in favor of the formation of amorpha-4,11-diene.

In analogy to the approach of an increased carotenoid production by the food yeast Candida utilis through metabolic engineering of the isoprenoid pathway as done by Shimada et al. (Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 64, 2676–2680 (1998)) the target genes according to the invention are acetyl CoA carboxylase (ACC, disruption), hydroxy-methyl-glutaryl CoA reductase (HMGR, over-expression), and squalene synthase (SQS, disruption) to obtain an increase of the precursor supplies, and amorpha-4,11-diene synthase over-expression to obtain accumulation of amorphadiene in such yeast cells. Because several expression systems (for example Muller et al., Yeast 14, 1267–1283 (1998); Park et al., The Journal of Biological Chemistry 272, 6876–6881 (1997); Tharaud et al., Gene 121, 111–119 (1992)) and transformation systems (for example Chen et al., Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 48, 232–235 (1997)) are known for Y. lipolytica in literature, transformation and expression of the previously mentioned target genes in Y. lipolytica is possible without serious technical problems.

By adding FPP to a culture medium further comprising the enzyme of the invention (isolated as described in example 1), or transformed cells, e.g. E. coli, comprising the DNA sequence of the invention (as described in examples 3 and 4), which is expressed, FPP is converted into amorphadiene. Amorphadiene can then be used as a starting material for the production of artemisinin.

Transformed cells in which amorphadiene is produced as a result of the expression of amorphadiene synthase of the invention can be used either in disrupted form, by for example sonication, or as intact cells, as a source of amorphadiene.

Over-expression of the amorphadiene synthase encoding gene in A. annua will increase artemisinin production, because the terpene cyclase is expected to be the rate limiting step.

The results of the present research (postulated biosynthetic pathway of artemisinin) make the presence of a single major rate limiting step at the place of the amorphadiene synthase clear. Over-expression of the amorphadiene synthase encoding gene can increase the production of artemisinin in A. annua.

The chemical structure of the first specific precursor of artemisinin, a cyclization product of FPP, was not known in literature. Neither has anyone so far detected such a compound in A. annua. Nevertheless it was possible to predict a likely structure for this cyclization product, based on the structure of DHAA and arteannuic acid (FIG. 3). The structure predicted in this way was consistent with a compound which is known in literature as 4,11-amorphadiene (J. D. Connelly & R. A. Hill in: Dictionary of terpenoids, Chapmann and Hill, London, England), as depicted in FIG. 4. This compound, isolated from Viguiera oblongifolia, has previously been described by Bohlmann et al. under the incorrect name cadina-4,11-diene (Phytochemistry 23(5) 1183–1184 (1984)). Starting from arteannuic acid (isolated from A. annua), it was possible to synthesize amorphadiene. Amorphadiene obtained in this way was in all chemical and physical aspects identical to amorphadiene as described by Bohlmann et al., and this standard was used to show the presence of amorphadiene in a terpene extract of A. annua.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a polypeptide having the biological activity of the enzyme amorphadiene synthase, obtainable by a process as described in example 1. This polypeptide can be used to convert FPP into amorphadiene which subsequently can be converted into artemisinin. Conversion can take place either in planta, when the polypeptide amorphadiene synthase is expressed in a plant that contains the necessary enzymes to further convert amorphadiene into artemisinin, or in vitro when FPP and the polypeptide (either in isolated form or as an expression product in a cell) are brought together in an incubation mixture.

Amorphadiene, produced by a suitable host organism transformed with the DNA sequence of the invention as precursor, can subsequently be chemically converted to dihydroarteannuic acid. Dihydroarteannuic acid per se can be used or in the production of artemisinin.

The chemical conversion of amorphadiene into dihydroarteannuic acid (FIG. 15) starts with the enantio-, stereo- and regioselective (anti-markownikoff) hydroboration of amorphadiene with BH₃, yielding a trialkylborane, followed by an oxidation of the trialkylborane with NaOH/H₂O₂ yielding the alcohol (Advanced Organic Chemistry, Jerry March, 4th Edition, Wiley, 1992). A mild oxidation of the alcohol to the acid can be obtained by PDC (pyridinium dichromate) without attacking the second double bond (FIG. 15) (Organic Synthesis, M. B. Smith, 1st Edition, McGraw-Hill, 1994).

Many genes encoding enzymes involved in the biosynthetic pathway of farnesyl diphosphate are cloned and known in literature. For A. annua, for example, the sequence of the farnesyl diphosphate synthase encoding gene is known in literature (Y. Matsushita, W-K. Kang and V. Charlwood Gene, 172 (1996) 207–209). A further approach to introduce or increase the amorphadiene production in an organism, is to transform such an organism (for example A. annua) simultaneously with the DNA sequence of the invention with one or more genes involved in the biosynthesis of farnesyl diphosphate. The expression of a fusion protein of amorphadiene synthase and farnesyl diphosphate synthase may be an example here.

(Sesqui)terpenes, such as amorphadiene, are also known as flavor and fragrance compounds in the food and perfume industry. In addition, terpenes play a role in plant-insect interactions, such as the attraction or repulsion of insects by plants. Furthermore, dihydro-arteannuic acid, which is an intermediate in the metabolic route from amorphadiene into artemisinin in A. annua, can be used as an antioxidant.

Amorphadiene, obtained by (over)expression of the DNA sequence of the invention, or by using the polypeptide (amorphadiene synthase) of the invention, can be applied for these purposes as well.

The plants that can be used for this invention are preferably plants already producing artemisinin. A prime example is Artemisia annua, as this species contains the remainder of the pathway leading to artemisinin. However, this invention may also be used for the production of amorphadiene in plants, which, as mentioned before, can be used as a flavor or fragrance compound or biocide, or can be converted to artemisinin, either chemically or by bioconversion using microorganisms, yeasts or plant cells.

The plant that can be used for the production of amorphadiene is preferably a plant already producing sesquiterpenes, as these plants already have the basic pathway and storage compartments available, or a plant in which the biosynthesis of sesquiterpenoids can be induced by elicitation. The methods of this invention are readily applicable via conventional techniques to numerous plant species, including for example species from the genera Carum, Cichorium, Daucus, Juniperus, Chamomilla, Lactuca, Pogostemon and Vetiveria, and species of the inducible (by elicitation) sesquiterpenoid phytoalexin producing genera Capsicum, Gossypium, Lycopersicon, Nicotiana, Phleum, Solanum and Ulmus. However, also common agricultural crops like soybean, sunflower and rapeseed are interesting candidates here.

The invention will be further illustrated by the following examples, but will not be limited thereto. In the examples reference is made to the following figures:

FIG. 1: Structural formula of artemisinin.

FIG. 2: Postulated biosynthetic pathway of artemisinin in A. annua.

FIG. 3: Transition between part II and III of FIG. 2: hypothetical conversion of amorphadiene into dihydroarteannuic acid in A. annua.

FIG. 4: Structural formula of amorpha-4,11-diene.

FIG. 5: Radio-GC chromatograms of the [³H]-FPP-assays. A. Flame Ionization Detector (FID) signal of amorphadiene (reference). B. Radio signals of the ³H labeled assay products amorphadiene (retention time 14 min.) and farnesol (as a product of aspecific phosphohydrolase activity, retention time 28 min.) obtained with crude enzyme extract. C. Radio signal of the ³H labeled assay product amorphadiene obtained with Mono-Q purified enzyme extract.

FIG. 6: Mass spectrum of reference amorphadiene compared with mass spectrum of the FPP assay with terpene cyclases (synthases) purified from A. annua. This comparison yielded a quality score of 99%, corresponding with a maximum score of identicalness.

FIG. 7: Probe generated by PCR and cloned into pGEM 7Zf⁺.

FIG. 8: Nucleotide sequence (SEQ ID NO: 9) and deduced amino acid sequence (SEQ ID NO: 10) of the probe (538 bp) generated by PCR with primers A and B.

FIG. 9: Released plasmid of a positive clone isolated from the cDNA library of induced A. annua.

FIG. 10: Nucleotide sequence (SEQ ID NO: 11) and deduced amino acid sequence (SEQ ID NO: 12) of a positive clone (amorphadiene synthase encoding gene) isolated from the cDNA library of induced A. annua. The sequence (SEQ ID NO: 11) is flanked with EcoRI (NotI) adapters (Gibco BRL).

FIG. 11: Part, between start and stop codon (flanked by NcoI and BamHI sites, respectively), of the amorphadiene synthase encoding gene cloned in the NcoI/BamHI site of the expression vector pET 11d.

FIG. 12: Nucleotide sequence (SEQ ID NO: 13) and deduced amino acid sequence (SEQ ID NO: 14) of the amorphadiene synthase encoding gene, between start and stop codon (flanked by NcoI and BamHI sites, respectively), obtained by PCR with primers C and D.

FIG. 13: SDS-PAGE gel: lanes 1 and 2 show pellet and supernatant of pET 11d, respectively (negative control); lanes 3 and 4 show pellet and supernatant of tobacco 5-epi-aristolochene synthase (TEAS) gene in pET 11d (positive control), lanes 5, 7, 9 and 6, 8, 10, respectively show pellet and supernatant of amorphadiene synthase in pET 11d. All constructs were expressed in E. coli BL21 (DE3). The lanes with the pellet fractions of TEAS in pET 11d (positive controls) and amorphadiene synthase in pET 11d show a clear spot which was not present in the negative control pET 11d. Mw is low Molecular Weight marker (Pharmacia Biotech).

FIG. 14: A. Flame Ionization Detector (FID) signals of amorpha-4,11-diene and farnesol (references); B. Radio-GC chromatograms of the [³H]-FPP-assays with intact BL21 (DE3) cells, transformed with the amorphadiene synthase encoding gene in the expression vector pET 11d; C. Radio-GC chromatograms of the [³H]-FPP-assays with the supernatant of sonicated BL21 (DE3) cells, transformed with the amorphadiene synthase encoding gene in the expression vector pET 11d.

FIG. 15: Hypothetical chemical synthesis of dihydroarteannuic acid using amorpha-4,11-diene as a precursor. The reaction consists of an enantio-, stereo- and region selective (anti-markownikoff) hydroboration of amorphadiene with BH₃ followed by an oxidation of the formed trialkylboranes with NaOH/H₂O₂ yielding the alcohol. A mild oxidation of the alcohol to the acid can be obtained with PDC (pyridinium dichromate) without attacking the second double bond.

FIG. 16: Determination of the molecular weight of amorpha-4,11-diene synthase by size-exclusion chromatography (gel filtration). —*— is activity curve; —▴— is molecular weight markers;

is molecular weight calibration line.

EXAMPLES Example 1 Conversion of Farnesyl Pyrophosphate into Amorphadiene by Amorphadiene Synthase

A. Isolation, Partial Purification and Identification of Amorphadiene Synthase from A. annua

During enzyme isolation and preparation of the assays, all operations were carried out on ice or at 4° C. Ten grams of frozen young leaves from greenhouse-grown A. annua were ground in a pre-chilled mortar and pestle in 40 ml of pre-chilled buffer containing 25 mM MES (pH 5.5), 20% (v/v) glycerol, 25 mM sodium ascorbate, 25 mM NaHSO₃, 10 mM MgCl₂ and 5 mM DTT (buffer A) slurried with 1 g polyvinylpolypyrrolidone (PVPP) and a spatula tip of purified sea sand. Ten grams of polystyrene resin (Amberlite XAD-4, Serva) were added and the slurry was stirred carefully for 10 min and then filtered through cheesecloth. The filtrate was centrifuged at 20,000 g for 20 min (pellet discarded), and then at 100,000 g for 90 min. A 3-ml subsample of the supernatant was desalted to a buffer containing 15 mM MOPSO (pH 7.0), 10% (v/v) glycerol, 1 mM sodium ascorbate, 10 mM MgCl₂ and 2 mM DTT (buffer B) and used for enzyme assays/product identification (see below at ‘B’).

The remainder of the supernatant was added to 12.5 g DEAE anion exchanger (Whatman DE-52), which had been rinsed several times with buffer A, and stirred carefully for 10 min. After centrifugation at 18,000 g for 20 min, the supernatant was decanted and the DE-52 pellet discarded. Proteins in the supernatant were precipitated by adding (NH₄)₂SO₄ to a final concentration of 70%, careful stirring for 30 min, and centrifugation at 20,000 g for 10 min. The resulting pellet was resuspended in 6 ml buffer A and desalted to buffer B. After addition of glycerol up to 30% (v/v) this enzyme preparation could be frozen in liquid N₂ and stored at −80° C. without loss of activity. 0.5 ml of this enzyme preparation was applied to a Mono-Q FPLC column (HR5/5, Pharmacia Biotech), previously equilibrated with buffer B without sodium ascorbate, with 0.1% Tween-20. The enzyme was eluted with a gradient of 0–2.0 M KCl in the same buffer. For determination of enzyme activities, 50 μl of the 0.75-ml fractions were diluted 2-fold in an Eppendorf tube with buffer B and 20 μM [³H]FPP was added. The reaction mixture was overlaid with 1 ml of hexane to trap volatile products and the contents mixed. After incubation for 30 min at 30° C., the vials were vigorously mixed, and centrifuged briefly to separate phases. A portion of the hexane phase (750 μl) was transferred to a new Eppendorf tube containing 40 mg of silica gel (0.035–0.07 mm, pore diameter 6 nm, Janssen Chimica) to bind terpenols produced by phosphohydrolases, and, after mixing and centrifugation, 500 μl of the hexane layer was removed for liquid scintillation counting in 4.5 ml of Ultima Gold cocktail (Packard). The active fractions were combined, and an assay carried out to determine product identity (see below). After the Mono-Q step, the enzyme was separated from all other FPP-converting activities (FIG. 5C). This enzyme preparation was used for the measurement of enzyme characteristics such as molecular weight and K_(m). The molecular weight was determined using size-exclusion chromatography. 200 μl of the Mono-Q eluent was loaded on a Superdex 75 (H/R10/30, Pharmacia Biotech) and eluted in the same buffer as used for Mono-Q. Enzyme activities in 0.5 ml fractions were determined as described for Mono-Q, but using undiluted eluent. The column was calibrated using cytochrome C, ribonuclease A, α-chymotrypsinogen, ovalbumin and BSA (all from Sigma). The estimated molecular weight was 56 kDa (FIG. 16). Enzyme-kinetics were determined using 5- and 10-fold diluted Mono-Q eluted enzyme preparation and [³H]-FPP concentrations ranging from 0.25–100 μM. K_(m) for amorphadiene synthase was 0.6 μM.

B. Determination of Product Identity

For determination of product identity, 20 μM [³H]-FPP (Amersham; for radio-GC analysis) or 50 μM unlabelled FPP (Sigma; for GC-MS analysis) were added to 1 ml of the enzyme preparations. After the addition of a 1 ml redistilled pentane overlay to trap volatile products, the tubes were carefully mixed and incubated for 1 h at 30° C. Boiled samples were used as controls. Following the assay, the tubes were vigorously mixed. The organic layer was removed and passed over a short column of aluminum oxide overlaid with anhydrous MgSO₄. The assay was extracted with another 1 ml of diethyl ether which was also passed over the aluminum oxide column, and the column washed with 1.5 ml of diethyl-ether. For GC-analysis, the combined pentane/diethyl-ether mixture was slowly concentrated under a stream of N₂.

Radio-GLC was performed on a Carlo-Erba 4160 Series gas chromatograph equipped with a RAGA-90 radioactivity detector (Raytest, Straubenhardt, Germany). Sample components eluting from the column were quantitatively reduced before radioactivity measurement by passage through a conversion reactor filled with platinum chips at 800° C. Samples of 1 μl were injected in the cold on-column mode. The column was a fused silica capillary (30 m×0.32 mm i.d.) coated with a film of 0.25 μm of polyethylene glycol (EconoCap EC-WAX, Alltech Associates) and operated with a He-flow of 1.2 ml min⁻¹. The oven temperature was programmed to 70° C. for 5 min, followed by a ramp of 5° min⁻¹ to 210° C. and a final time of 5 min. To determine retention times and peak identities (by co-elution of radioactivity with reference standards), about 20% of the column effluent was split with an adjustable splitter to an FID (temperature 270° C.). The remainder was directed to the conversion reactor and radio detector. H₂ was added prior to the reactor at 3 ml min⁻¹, and CH₄ as a quench gas prior to the radioactivity detector (5 ml counting tube) to give a total flow of 36 ml min⁻¹. The major [³H]-labeled product co-eluted with the amorphadiene reference standard (retention time 14 min) (FIG. 5B). The second radiolabeled product is farnesol, the product of aspecific phosphohydrolase activity. After the Mono-Q step, the enzyme was separated from all other FPP-converting activities (FIG. 5C). This enzyme preparation was used for the measurement of enzyme characteristics such as molecular weight and K_(m).

GC-MS analysis was performed using a HP 5890 series II GC and HP 5972A Mass Selective Detector (Hewlett-Packard) equipped with an HP-5MS or HP-Innowax column (both 30 m×0.25 mm i.d., 0.25 μm df). The oven was programmed at an initial temperature of 70° C. for 1 min, with a ramp of 5° C. min⁻¹1 to 210° C. and final time of 5 min. The injection port (splitless mode), interface and MS source temperatures were 175, 290 and 180° C., respectively, and the He inlet pressure was controlled by electronic pressure control to achieve a constant column flow of 1.0 ml min⁻¹. Ionization potential was set at 70 eV, and scanning was performed from 30–250 amu. The (NH₄)₂SO₄ precipitated enzyme preparation was free of endogenous sesquiterpenes. GC-MS analysis on the two different GC-columns of sesquiterpene products generated from FPP by this enzyme preparation showed that the main product had a mass spectrum and retention time equal to that of the semi-synthetically produced amorphadiene (FIG. 6).

Example 2 Isolation and Characterization of the Amorphadiene Synthase Encoding Gene

A. Induction of Transcription

As revealed in part III of FIG. 2, DHAA is photo-oxidatively converted into DHAA-OOH. In this reaction a reactive form of oxygen (singlet O₂) is added to DHAA. DHAA plays the role of an anti-oxidant, a scavenger of reactive oxygen species. Artemisinin is the stable end product of this reaction in which reactive oxygen is stored. Under stress conditions, (for example photo-stress, frost, drought or mechanical damage) reactive species of oxygen are formed in the plant. In response to this reactive oxygen generally plants are producing anti-oxidants. It is likely that A. annua will produce DHAA as anti-oxidant in response to this release of reactive oxygen. By exposing A. annua to stress conditions the transcription of the gene encoding amorphadiene synthase will be induced. To achieve this situation A. annua plants grown under climate room conditions (23° C., 90% moisture, 3000 lux) were exposed to stress conditions by putting them for one hour at approximately 30% moisture (drought stress) and 6000 lux (photo stress) at 30° C.

B. Isolation of Total RNA

Total RNA of stress induced plants (according to example 2.A) was isolated from young leaves by the method of Verwoerd et al. (Nucleic Acids Research 17(6), 2362 (1989)). DNase I (Deoxyribonuclease I, RNase free) was used to remove DNA from the RNA isolate. The DNase I was inactivated by exposure at 70° C. during 15 minutes.

C. cDNA Synthesis

The reverse transcription reaction was carried out in a 20 μl reaction containing 5 μg total RNA, 0.2 μg oligo (dT)₁₂, 0.5 mM each dATP, dTTP, dCTP and dGTP, 10 mM DTT, 2 U ribonuclease inhibitor (Gibco BRL), first strand synthesis buffer (Promega) and catalyzed with 200 U Moloney murine leukemia virus (M-MLV) reverse transcriptase RNase H minus (Promega). After 1 h incubation at 37° C. the reaction was stopped by storing the reaction mixture at −20° C.

D. PCR-Based Probe Generation

Based on comparison of sequences of terpenoid synthases, two degenerated primers were designed for two conserved regions. The sequence of the sense primer (primer A) was 5′-GA(C/T) GA(G/A) AA(C/T) GGI AA(G/A) TT(C/T) AA(G/A) GA-3′ and the sequence of the anti sense primer (primer B) was 5′-CC (G/A)TA IGC (G/A)TC (G/A)AA IGT (G/A)TC (G/A)TC-3′. PCR was performed in a total volume of 100 μl containing 0.5 μM of each of these two primers, 0.2 mM each DNTP, 1 U Super Taq polymerase/1× PCR buffer (HT Biotechnology LTD, Cambridge, England) and 2 μl cDNA. The reaction was incubated in a thermocycler (PTC 150, MJ-research) with 1 minute denaturation at 95° C., 1 minute annealing at 40° C. and 1 minute and 15 seconds elongation at 72° C. during 40 cycles. Agarose gel electrophoresis revealed a single specific PCR product of approximately 550 bp (538 bp). Such a specific amplification product was only obtained when using cDNA made of RNA isolated from stress induced plants. The PCR product was made blunt by using DNA polymerase I large fragment (Klenow), gel-purified and subcloned in Sma I digested pGEM 7Zf(+) (Stratagene) (FIG. 7) and E. coli DH5α (Gibco BRL) was transformed with this construct. The inserts of 8 individual transformants were sequenced and they all had the same sequence as shown in FIG. 8.

E. cDNA Library Construction

Synthesis of the second strand of the cDNA was done analogous to the RiboClone® cDNA synthesis System (Promega). After ligation with EcoR I (Not I) adapters (Gibco BRL) with sequence:

5′-pGTCGACGCGGCCGCG-3′ (SEQ ID NO: 1)

3′-CAGCTGCGCCGGCGCTTAA-OH-5′ (SEQ ID NO: 2)

the double stranded DNA was ligated into λ ExCell EcoRI/CIP (Pharmacia Biotech). For packaging and plating of the cDNA library, the Ready-To-Go® Lambda Packaging Kit (Pharmacia Biotech) was used. The titer of the unamplified library was 1.2×10⁶ plaque forming units. F. Library Screening

For library screening 200 ng of the PCR amplified probe (FIG. 8) was gel purified, randomly labeled with [α-³²P]dCTP, according to the manufacturer's recommendation (Random Primed DNA Labeling Kit, Boehringer Mannheim Biochemica) and used to screen replica filters of 10⁴ plaques of the cDNA library plated on E. coli NM 522. The hybridization was performed for 16 h at 68° C. in 1 M NaCl, 1% SDS and 10% PEG (5000–7000). Filters were washed two times for 10 minutes at 50° C. in 2×SSC with 0.1% SDS and exposed for 16 h to a Fuji X-ray film at −70° C. Clones yielding positive signals were isolated through a second and third round of hybridization. By transfecting E. coli NP66 (Pharmacia Biotech) with the positive clones, plasmid releases (FIG. 9) were obtained according to the manufacturer's instructions (Pharmacia Biotech). Sequencing of these positive clones yielded a sequence as revealed in FIG. 10.

Example 3 Expression of the Amorphadiene Synthase Encoding Gene in E. coli BL21(DE3)

For functional expression the cDNA clone was subcloned in frame into the expression vector pET 11d (Stratagene). To introduce suitable restriction sites for subcloning, the gene was amplified by PCR using a sense primer (primer C) 5′-GTCGACAAACCATGGCACTTACAGAA G-3′ (SEQ ID NO: 3) (introducing a NcoI site at the start codon ATG) and an anti-sense primer (primer D): 5′-GGATGGATCCTCATATACTCATAGGATAAACG-3′ (SEQ ID NO: 4) (introducing a BamHI site directly behind the stop codon TGA). The PCR reaction was performed under standard conditions. After digestion with BamHI and NcoI, the PCR product (FIG. 12) and the expression vector pET 11d were gel purified and ligated together to yield a construct as revealed in FIG. 11.

To obtain expression, this gene construct (FIG. 11), pET 11d without an insert as negative control, and pET 11d with the tobacco 5-epi-aristolochene synthase (TEAS) gene (Back et al., Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics 315(2) 527–532 (1994); Facchini & Chappell, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 89, 11088–11092 (1992); Back & Chappell, The Journal of Biological Chemistry 270, 7375–7381 (1995)) as positive control were transformed to E. coli BL21(DE3) (Stratagene), and grown overnight on LB agar plates supplemented with ampicillin at 37° C. Cultures of 50 ml LB medium supplemented with ampicillin (100 μg/ml) and 0.25 mM isopropyl-1-thio-β-D-galactopyranoside (IPTG) were inoculated with these over night cultures to A₆₀₀=0.5 and grown for 3 h at 27° C. The cells were harvested by centrifugation during 8 minutes at 2000 g and resuspended in 2 ml assay buffer. An aliquot of 1 ml resuspended cells was sonicated on ice four times for 5 seconds with 30 second intervals, centrifuged for 5 minutes at 4° C. in a microfuge (13.000 rpm) and the supernatant used for cyclase enzyme activity determinations and SDS-PAGE gel electrophoresis.

Expression of the amorphadiene synthase gene-pET 11d construct (FIG. 11) in E. coli BL21(DE3) yielded a protein of approximately 50 to 60 kDa as shown in FIG. 13 lane 5 to 10. This agrees well to the size of amorphadiene synthase isolated from A. annua, which was determined to be 56 kDa (FIG. 16).

Example 4 Conversion of FPP into Amorphadiene by Amorphadiene Synthase Expressed in E. coli.

Besides the supernatant of sonicated cells, also intact cells were used in the FPP assay. The FPP assay, GC-RAGA and GC-MS analyses were performed as described previously. FIGS. 14 and 14A are revealing the GC-RAGA chromatograms of the assays with intact transformed cells and with the supernatant of sonicated transformed cells, respectively. In both assays amorphadiene was produced. Identification of these assay products with the GC-MS gave a mass-spectrum identical to the mass-spectrum of the reference amorphadiene with a quality score of 99% (maximum score), mass spectra were identical to the spectra as shown in FIG. 6. No amorphadiene was found in assays done with the positive and negative controls.

Example 5 Expression of amorpha-4,11-diene Synthase in Transgenic Tobacco

There are many ways to introduce DNA into a plant cell. Suitable methods by which DNA can be introduced into the plant cell include Agrobacterium infection or direct delivery of DNA such as, for example, by PEG-mediated transformation of protoplasts (Omirulleh et al., Plant Molecular Biology 21, 415–428 (1993)) or electroporation, by acceleration of DNA coated microprojectiles (for example, microprojectile bombardment) microinjection, etc.

Because Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation of Artemisia annua and Nicotiana tabacum with a sesquiterpene cyclase gene is known in literature (Vergauwe et al., Plant Cell Reports 15, 929–933 (1996); Hohn and Ohlrogge, Plant Physiol. 97, 460–462 (1991)) delivery of expression units (cassettes), containing the amorphadiene synthase encoding gene, mediated by Agrobacterium seemed to be a rational approach.

There are several binary vector systems suitable to transfer the amorphadiene synthase encoding gene assembled in an expression cassette behind a suitable promoter (for example, the cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) 35S promoter) and upstream of a suitable terminator (for example, the nopaline synthase transcription terminator (nos-tail)) to tobacco and/or A. annua.

Analogous to EXAMPLE 3, suitable restriction sites for subcloning were introduced by using PCR with a sense primer (primer G) 5′-GA GGA TCC ATG TCA CTT ACA GAA-3′ (SEQ ID NO: 5) (introducing a BamHI site preceding the start codon ATG) and an anti-sense primer (primer H) 5′-AT GGA TCC TCA TAT ACT CAT AGG A-3′ (SEQ ID NO: 6) (introducing a BamHI site directly behind the stop codon TGA). After digestion with BamHI the PCR product and the plant-expression cassette pLV399 were gel purified and ligated to provide the gene encoding amorpha-4,11-diene synthase with the cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter and a nopaline synthase transcription terminator. The plant-expression casette pLV399 is a pUC 19 vector (Yanisch-Perron, C. et al., Gene 33, 103–119 (1985)) in which the multiple cloning site (polylinker) is replaced by a CaMV 35 S promoter BamHI fused to a nos-tail (terminator) flanked by the ‘unique’ sites; EcoRI, KpnI, XhoI, and a HinIII site downstream from the promoter and EcoRI, XhoI, PstI, SphI, SpnI, HinIII upstream from the terminator. The orientation of the amorpha-4,11-diene encoding gene in pLV399 was checked by restriction analysis with PstI and NdeI. After partial digestion of this construct with KpnI the amorpha-4, 11-diene encoding gene flanked by the 35S promotor and nos terminator was ligated into the KpnI digested binary vector pCGN1548.

To mobilize the recombinant binary vector to Agrobacterium tumefaciens LBA4404 (Gibco BRL, Life Technologies), a triparental mating procedure was carried out by using E. coli (DH5α) carrying the recombinant binary vector and a helper E. coli carrying the plasmid pRK2013 to mobilize the recombinant binary vector to A. tumefaciens LBA4404.

This transformed Agrobacterium strain was used for transformation of explants from the target plant species. Only the transformed tissue carrying a resistance marker (kanamycin-resistance, present between the binary plasmid T-DNA borders) regenerated on a selectable (kanamycin containing) regeneration medium. (According to Rogers S G, Horsch R B, Fraley R T Methods Enzymol (1986)118: 627–640).

The plants regenerated out of the transformed tissue expressed the amorphadiene synthase gene as followed from the presence therein of amorphadiene as confirmed by GC-MS analyses.

Example 6 Conversion of Amorphadiene into Artemisinin (DHAA) by A. annua

This assay was carried out in a way analogous to the method as described by Koepp et al. (The Journal of Biological Chemistry 270, 8686–8690 (1995)). Radioactive (³H-labeled) amorphadiene was fed to leaf discs of A. annua. For the infiltration of amorphadiene into the leaf discs of A. annua the radioactive amorphadiene can be made water soluble by complexation with cyclodextrins, for example. Radioactive amorphadiene is obtained by using the FPP-assay with the transformed E. coli BL21(DE3) cells (carrying the cloned amorphadiene synthetase gene of A. annua). Identification of the product(s) made in this assay was done by radio-GC analysis. The expected intermediates arteannuic acid (AA), dihydroarteannuic acid (DHAA) and the end product artemisinin were all used as references.

A mixture of α-cyclodextrin, β-cyclodextrin, γ-cyclodextrin, and partially ³H-labeled amorpha-4,11-diene (20 μM) in a molar ratio of 5:5:5:1 was prepared and A. annua leaf discs were incubated in this mixture. After 120 hours of incubation artemisinic acid and dihydroartemisinic acid could be detected by radio-GC in a way analogous to part B of example 1.

Example 7 Expression of amorpha-4,11-diene Synthase in Transgenic A. annua and the Production of Artemisinin

Transformed A. annua plants were prepared as described in example 5.

For the regeneration of A. annua the medium for callus, shoot and root induction consisted of Murashige and Skoog micro and macro elements including modified vitamins (Duchefa Biochemie, Haarlem, The Netherlands), 4% (w/v) sucrose, 0.1 mg/L Indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), 0.1 mg/L 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) and 0.8% (w/v) agar (Plant agar, Duchefa Biochemie, Haarlem, the Netherlands). The pH was adjusted to 5.7 with NaOH prior to the addition of agar. The medium was autoclaved at 1 bar for 20 min. Transformed explants were regenerated on this medium to fully regenerated plants.

The regenerated plants were found to over-express the enzyme amorpha-4,11-diene synthase which led to production of artemisinic acid, dihydroartemisinic acid, and artemisinin at a level above the natural level in non-transformed plants.

Example 8 Expression of the amorpha-4,11-diene Synthase Gene in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Pichia pastoris

For functional expression the cDNA clone was subcloned into the inducible expression vector pYES2 (episomal vector, Invitrogen) and the constitutive expression vector (integrating the gene construct into the genome) pGAPZ A (Invitrogen). To introduce suitable restriction sites for subcloning, the gene was amplified by PCR using a sense primer (primer E) 5′-CGA GAA TTC ATG TCA CTT ACA G-3′ (SEQ ID NO: 7) (introducing a ExoRI site preceding the start codon ATG) and an anti-sense primer (primer F) 5′-GGAT CTC GAG TCA TAT ACT CAT-3′ (SEQ ID NO: 8) (introducing a BamHI site directly behind the stop codon TGA). Subcloning of the PCR product into pYES2 and pGAPZ A was done in a way analogue to Example 3.

The obtained gene constructs were transformed to respectively Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Pichia pastoris using the S. cerevisiae EasyComp™ transformation kit (Invitrogen) to transform S. cerevisiae and the Pichia EasyComp™ transformation kit (Invitrogen) for transformation of P. pastoris. All transformations were carried out according to the instructions of the manufacturer. Growth, selection and induction were also performed in accordance to the instructions of the manufacturer. Harvesting and sonication of the yeast cells was done in an analogous way to the method as described in Example 3.

The FPP assay with the extracts of the yeast cells in which the amorpha-4,11-diene synthase gene was expressed yielded identical GC-RAGA and GC-MS chromatograms as obtained in example 4. 

1. An isolated DNA sequence encoding a polypeptide having the enzymatic activity of amorpha-4,11-diene synthase, wherein the DNA sequence exhibits at least 70% homology to SEQ ID NO: 13 or the complementary strand thereof.
 2. An isolated DNA sequence as encoding a polypeptide having the enzymatic activity of amorpha-4,11-diene synthase which has the sequence of SEQ ID NO:
 13. 3. The DNA sequence as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sequence has been isolated from plants producing amorpha-4,11-diene.
 4. A method for producing amorphadiene synthase, comprising transforming or transfecting a host cell with the DNA sequence claimed in claim
 1. 5. A DNA construct comprising the DNA sequence as claimed in claim 1 operably linked to suitable transcription initiation and termination sequences.
 6. A host cell comprising the DNA sequence as claimed in claim
 1. 7. The host cell as claimed in claim 6, wherein the cell is a bacterial cell.
 8. The host cell as claimed in claim 6, wherein the cell is a plant cell.
 9. The host cell as claimed in claim 8, wherein the cell is derived from a plant itself producing sesquiterpenes.
 10. The host cell as claimed in claim 6, wherein the cell is a cell selected from the group consisting of A. annua, V. oblongifolia and E. coli.
 11. The host cell as claimed in claim 9, wherein the cell is derived from a plant selected from the group consisting of the genera Carum, Cichorium, Daucus, Juniperus, Chamomilla, Lactuca, Pogostemon and Vetiveria.
 12. The host cell as claimed in claim 8, wherein the cell is derived from a plant, and wherein the biosynthesis of sesquiterpenoids can be elicited.
 13. The host cell as claimed in claim 12, wherein the cell is derived from a plant selected from the group consisting of the genera Capsicum, Gossypium, Lycopersicon, Nicotiana, Phleum, Solanum and Ulmus.
 14. The host cell as claimed in claim 8, wherein the cell is derived from a plant selected from the group consisting of soybean, sunflower and rapeseed.
 15. The host cell as claimed in claim 6, wherein the cell is a yeast cell.
 16. The host cell as claimed in claim 15, wherein the yeast cell is a cell selected from the group consisting of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Pichia pastoris.
 17. The host cell as claimed in claim 15, wherein the cell is an oleaginous yeast cell.
 18. The host cell as claimed in claim 17, wherein the oleaginous yeast cell is a Yarrowia lipolytica cell.
 19. The host cell as claimed in claim 6, which cell is part of a tissue or organism.
 20. A transgenic plant tissue, comprising at least the host cell as claimed in claim
 6. 21. A transgenic plant organism, comprising at least the host cell as claimed in claim
 6. 22. A transgenic cell, tissue or organism harboring in its genome more copies of the DNA sequence as claimed in claim 1 than are present in a corresponding non-transgenic cell, tissue or organism.
 23. The transgenic cell as claimed in claim 22, which cell is an E. coli cell.
 24. The transgenic cell as claimed in claim 22, which cell is a Saccharomyces cerevisiae cell.
 25. The transgenic cell as claimed in claim 22, which cell is a Yarrowia lipolytica cell.
 26. The transgenic organism as claimed in claim 22, wherein the organism is a plant itself producing sesquiterpenes.
 27. The transgenic organism as claimed in claim 26, wherein the organism is an organism selected from the group consisting of A. annua and V. oblongifolia.
 28. The transgenic organism as claimed in claim 26, wherein the organism is a plant selected from the group consisting of the genera Carum, Cichorium, Daucus, Juniperus, Chamomilla, Lactuca, Pogostemon and Vetiveria.
 29. The transgenic organism as claimed in claim 22, wherein the organism is a plant in which the biosynthesis of sesquiterpenoids can be induced by elicitation.
 30. The transgenic organism as claimed in claim 29, wherein the organism is a plant selected from the group consisting of the genera Capsicum, Gossypium, Lycopersicon, Nicotiana, Phleum, Solanum and Ulmus.
 31. The transgenic organism as claimed in claim 22, wherein the organism is a plant selected from the group consisting of soybean, sunflower and rapeseed. 